Pinto transitioned to  after the Board of Trustees accepted former President James Ramsey’s resignation. He was vacationing with his family in Hilton Head at the time.

“I was sitting on the couch with my son watching a movie. I was actually almost asleep. I don’t think he knew that,” Pinto said. “I got the call and was informed that I was now acting president of the university … I have to be honest, it’s been a whirlwind for me this past week.”

Pinto has been at UofL just shy of five years, first arriving on campus in September 2011 to serve as dean of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering and professor of chemical engineering. He was appointed interim provost in July 2015. The job included oversight of the university’s academic programming and day-to-day operations.

Though he admitted to being surprised by the abrupt transition, Pinto said he is honored that the Board of Trustees asked him to lead the institution in this interim period.

“What I recognized very quickly was that there is a flood of support for us to move forward. I’ve heard from many faculty, staff, student, alumni and community members, expressing their support for the university and for me to move it forward,” he said. “That has really encouraged me, and I’ve started gaining confidence that we can do it.”

As provost, Pinto was charged with the implementation of the university’s and said that the plan will continue to be the structure he and his leadership team will use.

“It’s an exciting plan. It connects to what’s most important for us here and that is a first-rate education for the students. It’s about student success, quality of programs, putting out outstanding research,” he said. “It connects to our service to the community, service in a way that is unique for a university – our ability to bring our intellectual potential to provide long-range solutions for our community.”

Pinto credited a strong team, including vice presidents and deans, for helping to bring these objectives to fruition. He also credited faculty and staff for making sure the university didn’t miss a beat during the transition.

“The task right now is to get ready for almost 3,000 students coming in as our freshmen class and the 22,000-some students that will be coming back to campus for the fall semester,” Pinto said. “I’m excited. I feel optimistic. I feel energized.”

Pinto fielded some questions from the media on a variety of issues, including:

• The impact of ongoing distractions, including the debate between the governor and attorney general about which board of trustees is in charge. Pinto said he is optimistic the judicial process will work itself out and that both boards are supportive of moving the university forward, underscoring that this debate has no impact on the day-to-day operations of the university. He also added that he has kept the chairmen of both boards, Larry Benz and Junior Bridgeman, in the loop.

“From my perspective, the board of trustees is about establishing policy for the university. Operationally, we function fairly effectively in this environment. We can still function well and deliver,” he said.

• When asked about whether he would want the president’s job permanently, Pinto said: “This is not about me right now. It’s (about) what the university needs. I think it needs a competitive, national search for a leader. The board of trustees will define the type of leader that’s required. Right now, I’m thinking about moving this university forward.”

Pinto added that he is just reacting right now. “I don’t expect this (role) to go very long. I think a search will start as soon as the board is finalized, and then we’ll move on. Right now, my focus is providing continued leadership, and that’s more important than anything I need to do for myself right now.”

• About the possibility of more tuition hikes, Pinto said that historically UofL has done better than the average university for student debt after they graduate (about $37,000 for the national average and $26,000 for UofL graduates).

“When we cut costs, it often comes at the price of quality … It’s an optimization of all of our resources to get to our objective of providing a high quality education at the lowest price,” he said. “It’s a really complex problem and isolating it as one or two factors oversimplifies it in my view.”

Pinto reiterated that we are currently operating on a spending plan right now. “There are a lot of implications for students if we don’t establish a spending plan,” he said.

• Asked if he was concerned about the reputational impact any recent issues have had, Pinto said, “Yes, ideally I do not want to be on the front page for this reason. We have, however, a very strong university. For example, last week, our faculty won $4 million in research awards. So things are going on,” he said. “This is a very strong institution, and I recognize that. I have learned to appreciate its strength. I think we will be all right.”

• Pinto said he is not concerned about the upcoming Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation being affected by the leadership transition. There are criteria within the accreditation requirements that speak to governance and whenever there is a change in governance, the university has to notify the accrediting authority.

“There have been some changes, and we have notified them. We will continue to work with the agency, and we’re hopeful that there will be a quick resolution,” he said.

• Pinto called Ramsey’s leadership “transformational.” “If you look at where the university was when he came and where it is now, that’s the only conclusion I can come to. I can tell you that when I worked with him both as interim provost and dean, he was very creative, he was committed to the students, he was committed to the institution – all elements that transformed this university,” he said. “So that’s the record. That’s not going to change.”

• Pinto ended his meeting with a message to the students, promising that the university’s commitment to them has not changed.

“I want to make sure that the discussions and challenges we are having around decisions on governance are completely transparent to them so that their experience will be the same whether this happened or not,” he said. “I will be transparent in everything I do. That’s in my DNA. Academics is about openness, and that’s the way I am.”

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“I appreciate everyone’s support for the past three years. I’ve loved every minute of it,” Lewis-Klein said.

She will remain in an ex-officio role, will still be present at committee meetings and will remain a strong advocate of UofL’s staff members.

Armstrong called Lewis-Klein a passionate leader.

“There isn’t a moment she isn’t thinking about us. She wears her heart on her sleeve,” Armstrong said, promising to follow Lewis-Klein’s example and maintain the tenacity she brought to the role.

The Senate presented a gavel with her name and years of service to Lewis-Klein before approving minutes from the June 13 meeting.

The new vice-chair, Vickie Tencer, called for committee reports, which included election results that will be available on the .

A vote to seat at-large members was approved to accommodate the new, larger number (99) of senators approved at the June meeting.

Committee preference sheets for those spots will be available online via Survey Monkey.

Other committee report updates include:

Policy, Economics and Development: Did not meet

Services and Facilities: A group was put together to meet with city officials about the Chestnut Street parking garage delays many have had grievances about.

Staff Grievance Committee: Four grievances were filed this semester. Dr. Robert Staat was announced as interim ombudsman.

SHARE: No requests

Staff Morale: Susan Jenkins retired from the Senate. The committee did not meet in June.

Treasurer’s Report

The treasurer’s report was given by new secretary/treasurer Sabrina Haug and includes:

• June expenses were $1,626.38, with an ending balance of $2,518.69
• The Staff Senate is under budget for the year
• SHARE did not incur any expenses, and the balance is $11,404.72;
• All balances carry forward into next year

Other Business

A Staff Senate retreat survey will be administered soon, according to Armstrong. All meetings moving forward will be recorded digitally in order to better follow Robert’s Rules of Order with regard to maintenance of minutes.

A compensation work group has been formed and it includes two staff senators. The executive committee minutes will be made available to the group.

Faculty Senate Representative Report

Dr. Robert Staat provided the Faculty Senate Report, including a special meeting that was held a week before the regular meeting, where senators drafted a policy statement in response to their concerns about Governor Matt Bevin’s executive orders and new board of trustees.

Interim Provost Neville Pinto provided information about the incoming class and fall enrollment. UofL has 432 students more than last year at this time (21,450 students).

Holds – such as parking tickets or library fines – will no longer prohibit students to register. However, they must be paid in order to graduate.

Projections for the incoming freshman class include 2,925 students and an average of a 3.68 GPA and 25.4 ACT score.

Dean searches include: Law and Speed will start soon. The College of Business will also need to start a search soon. The new deans of Dentistry and Kent are expected to start Aug. 1.

Report from the CFO/COO

CFO/COO Harlan Sands provided an update on a few business items, including searches in his area. He said there has been a $100,000 cut in the administrative budget through efforts such as hiring an AVP instead of a VP. There are four finalists for the chief human resources officer. Three candidates will be interviewed in person for the AVP of finance position.

He also listed recent “small victories,” including:

• The employee self-service website now includes K-4 and WH-4 tax forms for both Kentucky and Indiana.
• The travel partner has been switched from Pan Am Travel to Anthony Travel.
• We are “moving forward” on the new Business Operations Center, with onboarding as the first process to transition.
• A dependent verification audit is underway.
• We are moving services provided by the iTech Xpress Store to the new bookstore. This, Sands said, is a long-term vision that will provide a one-stop shop for everyone’s technology needs, including ordering, encryption, service and delivery. “I think the university will be well served if you only have one place to go for all of this,” he said. “It’s advantageous for pricing too because we’ll be buying in more bulk.”

Sands then fielded questions about parking, saying a natural progression is happening to move to much of the parking spots to the “fringes” of campus.

He also did not rule out a future price increase for permits.

“We haven’t had a parking price increase in six years. We’re far below market on this,” Sands said, adding that there are no plans to increase prices next year.

Sands also discussed the SAC renovations, which will include new academic spaces, a new bookstore, a Student Services annex and a Starbucks. Everything, he adds, will be state-of-the-art.

“Ninety-five percent of the SAC will be touched by this renovation. We are including students in this process,” he said. “Everything will be state-of-the-art. There is also the new academic building that is a once in a generation building. It will be a first-class teaching facility.”

Report from the Interim Executive Director of Human Resources

Interim Executive Director of Human Resources Jeanell Hughes provided an update from her area, which includes RFPs underway for a dental and vision insurance provider. We should have these in place before open enrollment in October. The university’s health insurance is staying the same.

Hughes also mentioned her team is “knee deep” in FSLA and OT regulations and is working with deans in every unit to provide an assessment on their workforce. These recommendations are expected next month for the regulations, which will be fully implemented by December.

There will be no Staff Senate meeting in August. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 12 at 2:30 p.m.